SOPS Differential – November 2017 by Lee Slater, DDS, MS

Case submitted by Dr. Peter Nordland, La Jolla, CA

A 73 year-old woman had a painless gingival swelling between the right maxillary central and lateral incisors (#7-8). General dentists had attempted to surgically remove it several times, but it repeatedly recurred.

Peripheral odontogenic fibroma is typically treated by surgical excision. Ritwik and Brannon found that 50% of peripheral odontogenic fibromas recurred. If this gingival swelling were associated with a radiolucent lesion, then the designation “central odontogenic fibroma” (with an extraosseous component) would be appropriate.